A Day of LOVE

February 14th, Valentine's Day, is upon us! This is hands down one of my FAVORITE holidays. Why most people hate it, I'll never know...Valentine's Day gives me a 24 hour excuse to eat as much chocolate as I want. :)

Since I love Valentine's Day so much, I figured I'd create a post with a few of my favorite, inexpensive Valentine's gifts.

(Mom, I hope you're paying attention.) :)

Chocolate Covered Strawberries. Yum.

Cupcakes. Yes, please!

Who doesn't love candles?

Victoria's Secret Gift Card. Perfect.

Pink, fuzzy slippers. Cute, comfortable, and PINK for Valentine's Day.

Can't forget chocolates! One of the MAIN benefits of Valentine's Day.

Now, if you're really looking to go ALL OUT for your Sweetheart on this special day of love, check out these next few items! :)

Michael Kors Grayson Jet Set Monogrammed Tote

Michael Kors Very Hollywood Eau De Parfum

Tory Burch Red Ballerina Flats

Betsey Johnson - Walford Shoes

Any my personal favorite, a customized ring from Pandora's Valentine's Day Collection.

Just remember, whatever it is you decide to get your

Sweetheart, Mom, Dad, Best Friend, etc.,

it's the thought the counts on this very special Day of Love. :)

NYC, I give you fair warning! Up there, in lights, I'll be!

The best part of my Christmas Break was my trip to New York City with my mom, my "sis" Jesse, and Mrs. Cindy. The four of us took New York by STORM and we had a blast! We stayed at the Edison Hotel, which is special to me since that is

where I stayed during rehearsals for Annie... many, many years ago. ;)

We did a LOT of shopping....

Saw a few shows...

Ate...

And ate some more!

While we were in NYC, we celebrated my 21st Birthday! That was such a treat! We had dinner at the famous Italian restaurant, Carmine's. It was DELICIOUS! When it came time for dessert, we all wanted to taste the biggest dessert on the menu: The Titanic.

It. Was. HUGE!

After much sight-seeing, shopping, eating, laughing, and spending time together, we finally ended our trip by eating lunch (and dessert) at Serendipty 3.

Visiting NYC with my mom, and my "2nd Family" definitely goes on the top of my list of the best trips I've ever taken. I'm so blessed to have had the chance to visit favorite city in the world, and even MORE thankful that

I got to share the experience with three very special people in my life.

Happy Birthday, Casey!

So, I've been away for a few months...but I really want to start blogging again...and hopefully on a regular basis. :)

My best friend Casey Conrad turned 22 on January 28th! Whew! He's getting up there! ;)

We had originally planned to go to dinner on his actual birthday, but plans changed when he wasn't able to come home until really late that night. Instead, we went to dinner at The Rendezvous (which was a surprise to him) on Saturday night!

The Rendezvous was SO GOOD. I got a pulled-pork sandwich, and he got ribs and brisket! YUM!

Standing outside The Rendezvous. :)

When we got home, we hade some carrot cake (Casey's favorite) that I made.

Not to brag, but, it was delicious! :)

His birthday dinner was the BIG present. I also had a bag full of all of his favorite snacks & goodies ready to go for him to take back to Nashville! :)

I think he had a FUN weekend and a great birthday! I know I enjoyed it! ;)

Quick Trip to Nashville

I love Nashville. I have always loved Nashville. So, anytime I can make the short drive for a quick shopping trip or visit friends, I'm totally up for it. This time, I went to see my best friend in the entire world play in a band called Darling Parade. They. Are. Amazing. I rode along with Casey's sister Lindsey and her husband Mike.

When we first arrived, we got to do a little shopping. I love shopping in Nashville. :) We went home, changed, and headed to The Muse. I'll have to say, it was quite an interesting venue, but we still had fun. And DP ROCKED.

This band is going to be big, I just know it. If you get chance, you should definitely check out their myspace (www.myspace.com/darlingparade), find them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter (DarlingParade).

Lubbock, Texas

Hello!!

Wow...haven't blogged in a while. Things have definitely been crazy. Now that I am finally moved into my new apartment in Tuscaloosa, hopefully it will slow down a little and I'll have more time to blog. :)

I have SO many things/events I need to blog about, but my trip to Texas cannot wait any longer. :)

Earlier this month, Casey and I flew to Lubbock, TX to visit his parents. First of all, I love his parents. I am so thankful that they allowed me to come along with Casey to visit them. To be honest, I had never heard of Lubbock until the Conrads moved there. I was expecting a little hole-in-the-wall-middle-of-no-where town. HA! Lubbock is the complete opposite! Mr. R actually told me that Lubbock is BIGGER than Southaven AND Olive Branch put together! And it was.

Much to my surprise, there was a LOT to do in the town of Lubbock. Every store you could ever need is there, and boy did we do some shopping. :) My favorite shopping stop was at World Market where I bought a few cute things for my new apartment.

Casey's parents took us to many great places to eat, but my favorite was Orlando's. It was a really neat Italian restaurant. Oh, and we just happened to stop in on "All You Can Eat Spaghetti, Salad, & Garlic Bread" night. Mmmm mmm good.

We had so much fun in Texas. We shopped, ate, visited, and watched the CMT Country Video Countdown ;) BUT, my favorite part of the trip was when Mr. & Mrs. C took Case and I to the lake for the day. The lake was absolutely beautiful and the weather was perfect.

Our trip to Texas was one that I will never forget. I can't wait to go back again!!! :)

Memphis Idol

Hello!!!!

It's been a few days since I've posted, but I've been a little busy. :)

Yesterday I helped judge Memphis Idol at the Avenue at Carriage Crossing. I had a blast!! 200 people showed up to audition! I along with Angelo Rapan, Erika Cobb, Cody Hanford, Jared Booty, and Lisa Lax had to judge every single one of the auditionees to find the next Memphis Idol. The winner of Memphis Idol received a ticket to skip the line at the American Idol auditions in New Orleans, LA. There was a TON of great talent yesterday. It was definitely hard to pick a winner. However, when it came down to it, we all decided on Jonathan-Blake White. He was AMAZING! His rendition of "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" blew us all away. Congrats to him, and GOOD LUCK at American Idol!!!

Shopping & Pizza Night

Today was one of those nice, lazy days. :) I slept in late and hung out with my favorite dog in the world. Around 2:00, I decided I'd get off the couch and do something productive. I went shopping for a little bit to find some decorations for my brother to put into his dorm room. I can't believe he will be in college this Fall!

While shopping for Matthew, I stumbled on a picture that I just HAD to have for my apartment. My entire apartment is decorated in black, white, and red. I have a ton of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn pictures hanging up. So, today, I found a picture today of Audrey Hepburn from her movie Funny Face. It was only $15!! I had to buy it. And I did. :)

Later, I met my Uncle Joe, Aunt Sharon, and PeePaw (my granddad) at Steak N Shake so my granddad could get a chocolate milk shake. ;) We all went over to my house afterwards and I made TWO delicious pizzas. I made one with pizza sauce and cheese, because I like my pizza plain. The other pizza I made was a canadian bacon and pineapple pizza. My family loved it. :)

Tomorrow morning, I have to sing the National Anthem at the DeSoto County Dog Show. That should be interesting. ;)